A BEREAVED mum who helps to maintain the baby garden at Blacon cemetery has spoken of her pain over criticisms about the way the area is maintained.

Karen Dalton, 48, runs the Chester Miscarriage Support Group and looks after the garden as a volunteer.

She said: “I was very upset and hurt about the comments in a newspaper article a few weeks ago which criticised the condition of the baby garden, as were many other people.

“The groundsmen do their best, but this is difficult because of items such as soft toys, fences and edging stones. Using a lawnmower is impossible and even a strimmer could damage items left on the plots.

“Although we would like families to maintain their plots and keep them tidy, this sometimes is not possible.

“I do remove dead flowers and anything that is really dirty or damaged and leave things in the office in case the family want to take them home, but I am still very anxious of upsetting anyone by doing this.

“The Miscarriage Support Group has spent a substantial amount of money to clean up the garden, and I would urge anyone who has a problem to contact me before going to the papers to see if we can put the matter right without upsetting other people who have their children there too.

“I would also like to apologise to the families whose plots were on the picture where names could clearly be seen.

“I have spoken to them and expressed my concerns about printing photographs without obscuring names as this is very inconsiderate and causes much distress to families.”